I rewatched Bring it On: All or Nothing… and my opinion completely changed!
In light of everything coming to light about Hayden Paniterrie with her new book and her Jay Shetty interview, I decided to rewatch one of my favorite Hayden movies, which is Bring it On: All or Nothing.
I fell in love with this movie as a kid when it first came out back in 2006. I was 11 years old back then. It made me obsessed with Hayden back then, and I still am now, probably even more now.
I also loved Hayden in Tiger Cruise, Ice Princess, I Love You Beth Cooper, and Nashville. I rewatched the movie this week with my husband, and it was his first time watching it ever. I love showing him the movies that left such a lasting impact on me as a kiddo.
Anyway, the race relations of Bring It On: All or Nothing were always a major factor in the film, but rewatching it now through the lens of an adult forced me to notice so many things that went over my head when I was younger.
Obviously, I want to talk about the race relations aspect of it all, but the toxic relationship dynamics, jealous frenemy dynamics, and beauty standards conversations also really stood out to me now as an adult.
WTF moments
This movie had a handful of moments that audibly made me say what the fuck out loud to my husband while we were watching it. Including all the racist commentary from the character of Winnie. When referencing the cheerleader squad, mostly composed of black and Latina athletes, she said, “They totally ruined our performance with that gang violence. They should be disqualified or arrested… If anyone deserves to be on TV, it’s me. Look at them. They’re so ghetto.” When going off on one of her own Asian teammates, she said, “bite me, crouching tiger, “ when he was probably the most out-of-pocket Bring it On character I’ve ever seen. She was highly offensive and just absolutely insane. But I feel like there was so much more to this movie than just the moments that made me say what the fuck.
Toxic relationship dynamics
The toxic relationship dynamics in Bring it On: All or Nothing were crucial for me to see you when I was younger. I feel like I took note of so many red flags that helped me navigate my dating life when I got to high school and college. In the movie, we see Britney Allen holding onto a toxic relationship with her boyfriend, Brad Warner. He’s the guy she started dating when she was still enrolled at her fancy high school, but they tried to maintain a long-distance relationship, even after she transferred to the low-income high school across town. One thing I hated most about their relationship, especially after re-watching the movie as an adult, is that he applied so much pressure on Britney to swipe her V card. He wanted to hook up, even though she wasn’t exactly ready for it. He only cared about his own needs, and he was incredibly selfish about it. This is ultimately why he ended up cheating on her with Winnie. The cheating happened after Britney transferred to the other school, but I have a feeling he would’ve cheated on her if she had never transferred at all because he didn’t feel like waiting to get it in. Britney found herself developing feelings for a guy at her new school name Jesse, but she tried to suppress those feelings and ignore her crush so she could stay loyal to Brad, but the moral of the story in this movie is that it’s better to let go of Relationships that aren’t serving you, making you feel fulfilled, or making you happy, to give yourself the freedom and leeway to pursue healthier connections with like-minded people. Britney slowed the process of connecting with Jesse because she was still holding onto Brad. She was still trying to hold onto her old life, even though she knew deep down it was time for her to move on. The toxic relationship dynamics in this movie are a message to young girls to never give in to pressure from guys to go farther than you’re ready for.
Jealous frenemy dynamics
Bring it On: All or Nothing also sheds a lot of light on jealous frenemy dynamics. Specifically, the friendship between Britney and Winnie, as I previously mentioned. The big reason Winnie hooked up with Britney‘s boyfriend behind Britney’s back is that she was so jealous of Britney. She wanted to live Britney‘s life. She hated that Britney was the cheer captain instead of her. She hated that Britney was dating Brad, who was seen as one of the most attractive guys on campus. Britney hated living in Winnie‘s shadow. And when you have a friend who is deeply envious of you, it means you’re in danger. A friend who is harboring jealousy towards you will never fully be happy for you. They’ll never celebrate your wins with you. And they rarely ever have your best interest at heart. They secretly celebrate your losses and find joy and glee in your hardships. Venting to a friend who’s jealous of you means you’re giving them ammunition. You’re not going to get loving emotional support. You’re just beefing up there Toolbox of ammunition against you. Britney was unknowingly in a friendship with Winnie, even though Winnie was praying for her downfall the entire time. Those toxic friendship dynamics were heavily put on display in this movie, which I think was super important for me to see as a young girl. And I think it’s important for a lot of girls to be exposed to something like that, so you know what type of energy and behavior to avoid when cultivating friendships with other girls. A friend who genuinely loves you won’t showcase any jealousy towards you. They’ll be happy for you when you’re happy. They’ll feel like they’re winning when you’re winning. And that’s the sign of a true, healthy friendship.
Beauty standards convo
The beauty standards discussed in the film also caught my attention, even more when I rewatched it as an adult just recently. And that’s because Britney‘s first school, being skinny equated to being pretty. If you weren’t skinny as a real, then you weren’t pretty. And you had to be skinny as a real to be included as a cheerleader on the squad. Winnie insisted that Britney fat-shame one of the cheerleaders on the team named Breana. And the most insane irony of it all is that Breana probably had the best body out of everyone on the squad. She looked incredible, and she barely had any body fat on her at all. She was still extremely thin, but not skinny enough for the standards of Britney‘s first school. And it was so iconic to see a change in perspective when Britney transferred to her second school, where she joined the cheer squad with Karisha. Karisha was considered a plus-size cheerleader who had tons of confidence. She always got compliments from her girlfriends. Her girlfriends built her up and made sure she felt beautiful. But here’s the crazy part. Karisha wasn’t necessarily plus-sized either. She doesn’t count as a fat cheerleader in my opinion, either. But for the sake of the movie, she was seen as the biggest cheerleader on that squad, and she was adored, loved, and embraced by all of her teammates. That was important for Britney to see. She needed to see that self-love and body positivity can be possible regardless of different shapes and sizes. And obviously, that was important for me to see as a kid, too. Especially since diet culture is something that comes in waves. Ever since I was younger, the pressure to be skinny and pretty has always been a topic of conversation. I love that Karisha was supported by her teammates for being exactly who she was and that they never pressured her to drop weight to fit a certain aesthetic. Britney’s teammates from her first squad are the type to perpetuate eating disorder culture, which is incredibly toxic. But Britney’s new squad is the type who supports self-love and body positivity more than anything else.
Race relations
Of course, I have to talk about race relations in the movie that left more of an impact on me as an adult than a child. I definitely took note of the topic of race relations in this movie, watching it when I was younger, but I saw more of its depth as an adult. Britney started off out of school that represented wealth, status, and prestige. Her teammates, specifically Winnie, didn’t mind giving off racist vibes and saying racially insensitive things in a very open and blatant way. But when Britney was surrounded by her new teammates at Crenshaw, she realized people who come from different walks of life and economic statuses all deserve respect. She noticed how talented the cheerleaders from Crenshaw were, even though they didn’t come from a fancy school, and I think it helped open her eyes to something she would have never learned if she hadn’t been placed in that environment. In the real world, people like Britney who aren’t inherently racist or bigoted miss out on the opportunity to socialize with people different than them because they’re never written into the movie trope of getting transferred into a different school or workplace that completely shakes up the things they know and recognize. What Britney went through was a night-and-day wake-up call that revealed the truth about white privilege, the inappropriate nature of stereotypes, and the class divide that very much exists in different cities across this country. I think the movie handled it with taste since the racist attitude from Winnie was never supported or celebrated by anyone. She was ostracized for making inappropriate comments, in fact.
Rihanna’s presence in the film
Rihanna‘s presence in the film is actually something. I totally forgot about it until I re-watched the movie as an adult, which is crazy to say, I know, but I actually completely forgot she was in this movie. And it was cool to see her at a time in her life before she blew up, she be the level of famous she currently is today. Back in 2006, Rihanna had only released her first batch of major singles. Ponda Replay, SOS, and Unfaithful were playing on everyone’s radio stations at the time. Those songs went triple platinum in my household for sure. But this movie came out way before Rihanna’s other major songs, like Umbrella, Diamonds, Work, We Found Love, Needed Me, and This is What You Came For, were released. Rihanna was already a beloved pop singer, but when she appeared in Bring it On: All or Nothing, her career hadn’t blown up to this degree just yet. It was also way before she launched Fenty Beauty, which didn’t come out globally until 2017. Or her Fenty X Savage lingerie line, which came out in 2018. Seeing Rihanna in the movie was definitely a highlight, and I love that. She played a pivotal role in choosing the winning cheer squad at the end of the movie.
Human resilience and the ability to adapt
Something else I think that aged well about this film is the fact that it sheds light on the concept of human resilience and the ability to adapt. Britney did not want to transfer schools, and she felt like her life would be ruined if she did. But she opened her mind and figured out how to adapt to the changes. She knew she wasn’t going to be a cheer captain at her new school since that role was already reserved for someone else. But her love for cheer meant she was still going to be happy as long as she had the opportunity to be a cheerleader, with or without the captain title. I think it was an important lesson to learn in the movie because when you’re a teenager, it feels like everything is the end of the world. It feels like every bad thing that happens is literally going to ruin your life forever. But that’s simply not true. Britney lost her friend group, her boyfriend, the city she loved, the high school she loved, and her title as cheer captain. But through human resilience and her ability to adapt, she still found happiness and joy in her new environment.
So ultimately, what I saw as a cute and fun cheerleader movie as a child is now something I have a lot more respect for. My opinion on this movie has changed quite a bit because of that. It went from something fun, light, and simple to a movie I actually value for its depth. This is a movie that definitely aged well in my opinion, with themes that mattered back then and still matter today.
Leave a Reply